The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of a nationally representative sample of approximately 50,000 households from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The CPS has been conducted for more than 50 years. The Bureau of the Census conducts the survey for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, asking a knowledgeable adult household member (known as the “household respondent”) to answer all the questions on all of the month’s questionnaires for all members of the household.

The CPS collects data on the social and economic characteristics of the civilian, noninstitutional population, including information on income, education, and participation in the labor force. However, the CPS does not collect all this information every month. Each month a “basic” CPS questionnaire is used to collect data about participation in the labor force of each household member, 15 years old and above, in every sampled household. In addition, different supplemental questionnaires are administered each month to collect information on other topics.